Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story by J. R. Ward Read Free Book Online Page A

on.”
     
    Qhuinn threw them into reverse, jumped the SUV back fifteen feet, then punched the engine into first gear and nailed his foot to the floor. Wrenching the wheel to the left, he dodged around the Town & Country, chunks of earth clumping up and clapping against both cars.
     
    As they bounced around like a boat in bad weather, Rhage reached into his jacket and took out a hand grenade. Opening his bulletproof window just far enough, he popped the pin with his teeth and tossed the fist-size explosive out. By the grace of God the damn thing tripped off the minivan’s roof and rolled under the vehicle.
     
    The three lessers leaped out of that fucker like the thing was on fire.
     
    And ten seconds later it was, its flames lighting up the night.
     
    Fuuuuuck, if Z thought the trip through the tunnel had been bad on his leg, it was nothing compared to the bump-and-shatter act it took to get away from those slayers. By the time the Hummer burst out onto Route 9 after having clipped at least one of the lessers on its hood, Zsadist was on the verge of blacking out.
     
    “Shit, he’s going into shock.”
     
    Z realized with little interest that Rhage had turned around and was looking at him, not at the civilian.
     
    “Am not,” he mumbled as his eyes rolled back in his head. “Just taking a little break.”
     
    Rhage’s spectacular Bahama-blue stare narrowed. “Compound. Fracture. Motherfucker. You’re bleeding out as we speak.”
     
    Z lifted his eyes to Qhuinn’s in the rearview mirror. “Sorry ‘bout the carpet.”
     
    The male shook his head. “Not to worry. You, I will abso trash my ride for.”
     
    Rhage put his hand on Z’s neck. “Damn it, you’re white as snow and about as warm. You’re going to have to get treated at the clinic.”
     
    “Home.”
     
    In a low voice Rhage said, “I texted Mary not to let her go, okay? Bella’s still going to be there no matter how long it takes us to get back to the mansion. She’s not leaving you before you get home.”
     
    A whole lot of resounding quiet settled in the Hummer, like everyone was busy pretending they didn’t hear any of Rhage’s newsflash.
     
    Z opened his mouth to argue.
     
    But fainted dead away before he could marshal any more objections.
     

SIX
     
    Bella paced around the PT room in the training center, orbiting the examination table on shaky legs. She stopped regularly to check the clock.
     
    Where were they? What else had gone wrong? It had been over an hour. . . .
     
    Oh, God, please let Zsadist be alive. Please let them bring him back alive.
     
    Pacing, more pacing. Eventually she paused at the head of the gurney and looked down its length. Putting her hand on its padded top, she found herself thinking of when she had been on the thing as a patient. Three months ago. For Nalla’s birth.
     
    God, what a nightmare that had been.
     
    And God, what a nightmare this was . . . waiting for her hellren to be rolled in injured, bleeding, in pain. And that was the best-case scenario. The worst case was a body with a sheet over it, something she couldn’t even contemplate.
     
    To keep herself from going crazy, she thought about the birth, about that moment when both her and Z’s lives had changed forever. Like a lot of dramatic things, the big event had been anticipated, but when it arrived had nonetheless been a shock. She’d been in her ninth month out of the usual eighteen and it had been a Monday night.
     
    Helluva way to start the workweek.
     
    She’d had a craving for chili, and Fritz had indulged her, whipping up a batch that was spicy as a blowtorch. When the beloved butler had brought the steaming bowl to her, though, she’d abruptly been unable to stomach the smell or the sight of it. Nauseous and sweaty, she’d gone to take a cool shower, and as she’d lumbered into the bathroom, she’d wondered how in the hell she could fit another seven months of the young getting larger in her belly.
     
    Nalla,